Robin Smith, chair of the Berwick Street Traders

MARKET traders say they are being priced out of pitches following a massive price hike from a “ruthless, vile and unforgivable” city council.

Saturday hot food traders in Berwick Street, Soho, and Strutton Ground, Pimlico, will face the highest hike from a new tiered pricing system. New charges are being imposed that rise based on the location, day of the week, and goods sold.

Robin Smith, chair of the Berwick Street Traders, told Extra the latest blow felt “terminal”. He said: “Westminster are ripping the heart out of local markets, it is the traders looking after the locals that won’t survive. They are charging us for the deficit that is not ours to deal with. It’s completely unjustifiable, Westminster has massively expanded its markets team, way beyond anything relevant to the act, they should cut that team to deal with their deficit.

“We are pulling 10,000 people a week into this street, and the council does not care. They seriously do not care. To add this kind of pressure to our local economy is utterly impractical and thoughtless. Some vendors are bringing in £150 a day. They won’t even be able to buy their goods with these new costs, never-mind make a profit or stay open.”

Then founder of Soho Dairy, who has run a stall in Berwick Street for the past 12 years, warned of the tight margins vendors work with, and the struggle to keep markets afloat post Covid-19, partly due to reduced footfall and fewer office workers in Soho.

Currently, market traders generally pay a flat daily pitch fee of £22, but under the new system can pay up to £44. New fresh produce traders applying for a permanent licence will face an application fee of £1,125, up from £126.

Westminster’s licensing committee unanimously approved the new fees on October 21, coming into effect on New Year’s Day.

At the meeting, traders also highlighted problems with basic facilities provided for the market, including toilets, water, electricity, and questioned whether fees should rise substantially without improvements.

West End Street Traders Association has also challenged the transparency of council calculations, particularly how spending on waste collection and enforcement. After talks, they said they had accepted revised charges, but called for a review within 18 months.

Mr Smith said: “This is ruthless, vile and unforgivable. It sets the tone of street traders’ relationship with the council. In 2017 we successfully fought the privatisation of our markets and… since then we have continued to fight for what we deserve. But we are tired now, and it is neither fair nor reasonable that this continues.”

The city council argue existing charges do not adequately cover the cost of managing markets, collecting waste, cleaning streets and enforcing trading regulations, while a statement from the local authority said that the new measures would ensure a “fairer, more sustainable system.”

They estimate a current £2.4million annual deficit across its street trading budget, and said the proposed system could raise approximately £824,000 in additional billed income.

Cabinet member for growth Cllr San Abishev told the LDRS: “Even after these changes, they will still operate at a deficit of around £1.6million a year, which the council and the taxpayers will continue to fund.” The 5 per cent direct debit discount would remain in place for traders and fee waivers and reductions. “With these measures, we want to create a fairer, more sustainable system,” he said.